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VIN’s women’s empowerment program seeks to improve the quality of life of women living in the rural communities where we run projects by providing them with economic tools like basic education, improved health and life without violence.

Welcome toVolunteers Initiative Nepal!

We are a not-for-profit NGO based in Kathmandu, working in rural communities of Nepal.

Our mission is to empower marginalized communities through equitable, inclusive and holistic development programmes.

There are four pillars in our developmental approach: Education, Health & Environment, Economy and Basic infrastructure development. These four pillars of development are supported by six major community empowerment programs namely Women’s Empowerment, Children’s Development, Youth Empowerment, Public Health & Medical, Environment Conservation and Disaster Risk Reduction. All VIN’s developmental and humanitarian programs are aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Women and Children the nucleus of our development initiatives. We pay special attention on women and children’s issues. We bring innovation in our programs by conducting research deploying national and international volunteers. The last one and a half decade of holistic & integrated development approach has proved to promote equality, economic well-being and basic human rights.

Thousands of women are benefitted through literacy, life skills, micro-credit & entrepreneurship development workshops, exchange visits. Over 10 thousand children have benefitted through Early Childhood education, Children’s clubs, sponsorship, teachers training, infrastructural development programs. Thousands of people have been benefitted through our medical & public health program. Our re/construction program has been instrumental support for safe housing and sanitation campaign.Volunteer programs: This has been possible due to our dedicated staff, alliances with like-minded organisations and the efforts and contributions of local and international volunteers. We offers the most affordable international volunteering & internship placements in Nepal.VIN fund and run mid to long-term sustainable community based volunteer service projects, focusing on those most disadvantaged communities with special focus on women, children and minority groups. Our holistic development model – education, health & environment, tools for economic well-being and the provision of basic infrastructure has proved to be effective to those disadvantaged communities.

Building our projects on these pillars and SDGs have ensured an integrated and sustainable impact on the community people and will give the greatest chance of independence for our working communities. So, when you join VIN either as a donor, sponsor or volunteer or an intern, you can be sure you will be part of long-term, positive change for Nepal. Whether we have volunteers / interns or not, our projects continuously run by our local fulltime staff. This is just one of the great reasons to choose to work with VIN.

Volunteer in Nepal with the most trusted local volunteer organization. VIN is a non profit, secular, charitable volunteer organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal founded in 2005. We are also a member of international voluntary networks worldwide like CCIVS, NVDA, ALLIANCE, FoVIN-NL, US, UK, Australia.

Our overall focus is empowering the most marginalized / disadvantaged communities in rural and remote area in Nepal. However, we also run teaching, research, administrative, journalism and public interest volunteering projects in and around Kathmandu.

Thanks to our dedicated staff, VIN can ensure these projects run consistently, building the trust of the communities and relationships with our partners. However, our international and national volunteers are a huge asset to our projects. You may participate on our sustainable development programs as a volunteer or intern. We also organize group volunteering, family volunteering, work-camp opportunities and Adventure Volunteer Projects. All that we ask is adaptability, flexibility & positive attitude. Apply volunteering today and be part of making a real difference.

Nepal’s Challenge

Despite Nepal’s popular appeal to tourists, it is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with over 25% of its population living below the poverty line.

A country of contrasts, Nepal is home to a dramatic landscape and a rich culture. But its geography renders around 80% of its land hostile to agriculture, it is susceptible to natural disasters and its feudal and religious heritage mean that discrimination between gender and caste prevents Nepal from looking towards a brighter future.

Landlocked, the country remains in an uncomfortable strategic position between the powers of India and China. Much of the land itself is hostile to agriculture, with approximately 20% being open to cultivation, yet more than 75% of the population still depend on agriculture for survival. This means there are periods in the year where families have no source of either income or subsistence.

Despite the severe shortage of fertile land, more than 75% of Nepal’s population depend on subsistence-farming for survival. During the harvest season, children in rural areas will not be allowed to attend school, needed in the home to baby sit or complete chores. In the months when there is no yield for land, the children become a source of income, farmed out as child labour. In the instances where children do attend school, they are not encouraged to open their books at the end of the day because they have chores to do. And where incomes are tight, families cannot afford the extra cost of school supplies and uniforms.

Despite a pledge by the Nepalese Government to the UN to empower its women by 2015, gender discrimination remains a constant reality. A girl child is often seen by their family as a burden. Instead of receiving education and the chance of a better job, they are arranged to be married at an early age and become dependent upon their husband. Where approximately 48% of the population remain illiterate, the statistics are significantly higher for women. Only 31% of the population have access to improved sanitation and the scarce water on which the country relies is polluted by animal, human, agricultural or industrial waste.

Political unrest has been a constant shadow across Nepal for some time. While hope for change emerged in 2006 with the end of a decade civil war, the subsequent coalition governments have failed to draft a meaningful constitution on time. The new assembly elected November 2013 expressly committed that the new constitution would be promulgated on January 22, 2015 and finally the assemble promulgated it in September 2015. New elections were held on local, province and federal level in 2017. Nepal finally has a stable government but the government has a lot of challenges to draft new laws and acts according to the new constitution.

Our Response

VIN facilitates projects focused on the women and children of marginalised communities against this challenging backdrop. VIN believes that the empowerment of women and children will bring about positive change so desperately needed in Nepal.

JitpurPhedi, an underprivileged rural community, was VIN’s pilot community, where work began in 2007. Jitpur Phedi is situated just 11km from Kathmandu and is comprised of nine separate small villages, each of which accounts for several smaller settlements. JitpurPhedi is home to approximately 6000 people of a variety of castes, ethnic groups living in over 1000 dwellings.

Tarkeshor municipality – outskirt of Kathmandu: 10 to 17 KM from the main city of Kathmandu, Kavresthali, Jitpurphedi, Dharmasthali, Sangla, Futung, Jhor Mahankal and surrounding. It takes about 30-45 minutes to reach these locations by local bus. Rich in natural beauty; close to the capital; historical importance yet people are poor and living a difficult life. People there are involved in traditional farming and small scale economic activities. It’s a great area to experience an authentic Nepali life

In almost 13 years, VIN has made significant progress within the community; aiding the construction of toilets in 3000 homes in collaboration with local government organizations and international volunteers; VIN formally registered Women’s Cooperatives in JitpurPhedi, Taluwa & Thulachhap helping over 2000 women to gain access to funds to use for income generation for their families; providing 4000 children with training on their basic rights and training thousands of women on vegetable farming, literacy and life-skills and other entrepreneurship building.

Okhaldunga: Situated in the Everest region of the Nepal, some 250km from Kathmandu, Okhaldhunga has a population of over 12,000. VIN has been working with three villages – Taluwa, Thulachhap of Siddhicharan Municipality and Bhadaure of Chisankhugadhi Rural municipality.

VIN believes in financial transparency. The project fees paid by our volunteers is the main source of income to fund our community projects. VIN receives no funds from government or foreign agencies. However, we are mindful to ensure our costs and the resulting fees are kept to a minimum and to maintain that transparency on how the fee you pay to us is spent. These fees allow VIN to continue our work in the community. We think you will find the fees affordable but are happy to answer any questions you may have.

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Testimonials

Actually, this is my second time to come to Nepal and work with VIN. Last time I came here, I felt I would love to come back. And now, I feel the same as last year. So I would love to come back to Nepal and work with VIN in near future... again!!

Success Stories

A leader and a voice for many women Tarkeshwor Municipality-3 Jitpurphedi Dandagaun Sharmila Adhikari, a mother of two children, and a busy housewife, embodies a perfect example of perseverance and grit of a human being....

Vin Ambassador

I was an intern with VIN for 10 weeks from October to December 2015, working in the Environment and Conservation Program, with regards to Climate Change and sustainable agriculture. I graduated from the University of...

VIN’s women’s empowerment program seeks to improve the quality of life of women living in the rural communities where we run projects by providing them with economic tools like basic education, improved health and life without violence.